Any gas stations left selling gas without ethanol? (Bristol, Fairview: home, buy)

[NorthernLights]

Not really. Much corn grown up there in Minnesota?

[marmac]

--------"Not really"----

Quite surprised!

With homesteaders stating they bought "prime " farmland in East TN, I presumed there would be many acres planted to corn.

[rccrain]

Originally Posted by marmac

--------"Not really"----

Quite surprised!

With homesteaders stating they bought "prime " farmland in East TN, I presumed there would be many acres planted to corn.

Most of the corn grown is for personal consumption. Tobacco seems to be the cash crop. Second and third are likely tomatoes and hay. Otherwise, it's a pretty diverse mixture of fruits and veggies.

Cattle and chicken farming is also quite popular.

[NorthernLights]

There's definitely corn being grown in east TN but I don't believe it is the dominant crop. I think tobacco may still be the dominant crop, there is also lots of tomato production, livestock, orchards, berries.

[paparker21]

Ain't ya'll never listened to Rocky Top? Can't grow corn up here... soils too rocky by far.

But seriously... most of the growing around here is tobacco and tomatoes.

[jabogitlu]

Actually... most of the corn you see growing in east TN goes straight to silage for cattle. Dairy and tobacco are kings here.

[NorthernLights]

Don't take this the wrong way but the only thing I disliked moving here from Carroll County, Maryland was that your soil sucks in comparison to north central MD and south central PA. Probably why the original settlers from VA and PA kept moving further west. Really thin layer of topsoil over clay, and the pH isn't really good either. My county back home and some others in the Chesapeake Bay basin has topsoil you can sink your fingers deep into after a rain, thick loamy stuff, in spite of the shale and that helps actually, more akin to what you find in a bag of potting soil. The soil here reminds me more of what's further west in MD up in Washington/Alleghany County further up in the mountains [such as they are] in MD. Up there they grow cattle, orchards, some corn, but not the breadbasket that my county used to be, 100 years ago, for growing grains, dairy cattle, corn, etc. before 'growing houses' became the cash crop that close to Baltimore/DC. The lower lying farmland here near the river bottoms looks really fertile though, good stuff.
"Farmland" is a broad term...thankfully. It depends what you want to grow. We grow a lot a great things here in east TN. From livestock, to tomatoes, to tobacco, to beans, to orchards, to melons, to berries, to peaches, to soybeans,.....it's a fertile area. You could probably feed your family quite well on a small farm here, if that was your intention, as many generations have successfully done.

[paparker21]

So anyway, back on the topic of gas stations without ethanol....
After a couple tanks from "The Apple Shed" on 36 ive determined.... its pretty shoddy gas. I get approximately the same MPG from this ethanol free as I do shell 10%... and the MPGs are horribly inconsistent. Pretty sure that its not a consistent supplier and its a 'lowest bidder wins' on a per weekly basis or whatever the case is. You're better getting quality gas with ethanol in it and having consistent MPG over getting your gas @ apple shed.

[NorthernLights]

Sorry if we digressed even with the attempt to show how corn production could benefit this area from ethanol based fuel [if we grew lots of corn in east TN]. I'm glad to hear about your mileage experiences using straight petroleum compared equally to 10% ethanol. My vehicles show no real difference in performance. I personally doubt if many people with modern vehicles will see any difference whatsoever. I have read that vehicles made since, [acc. to one article], 1987, should be able to run it with little or no discernible difference in mileage. My friends that have run E85 tell me otherwise.
I only meant to add what I had researched about ethanol providing less caloric energy per gallon and add in the environmental expense of growing all the corn, and the possible increased damage to internal rubber and aluminum engine parts and fuel line parts since ethanol corrodes rubber and aluminum over time. Ethanol has issues that preclude it's shipment via pipeline that add to it's costs. But, The government wants us to buy new cars anyway so who cares if ethanol causes engine or fuel line wear. right?
Still seems silly to me to spend the money to turn corn into fuel when we still have crude. Maybe if they use something other than corn, like weeds and sillage stubble, etc. it might make sense. And 10% ethanol is still 10% less gasoline we have to buy from other countries so maybe it's worthwhile. Who knows?

[jabogitlu]

I noticed that the gas station at the corner of Watauga and Roan (in downtown, behind the library) has re-opened and the sign says the gasoline is ethanol-free.